


Attack on the Black Butler

by PresidentGuppy



Category: Kuroshitsuji | Black Butler, Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Demons, Gen, made up past idk
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-11-13
Updated: 2013-11-13
Packaged: 2017-12-31 04:30:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,019
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1027245
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PresidentGuppy/pseuds/PresidentGuppy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Levi's past comes back to haunt him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wasn't sure If I should've posted this or not, since I haven't even reached the end of the manga or anything, but oh well.

It was a cool Saturday morning.

 

There was frost on the window, the floor was freezing to the touch, and Erwin was wheedling about, trying to get you to find funding for the Survey Corps through your one contact--your brother.

 

See, before you had become a rebellious thug wandering the underground, you had been the eldest son of a wealthy company owner. The Phantomhives were a powerful family connected to the Queen of the walls; commonly known as her guard dogs. Their main works, however, were in toy production for the wealthy within Shina.

 

You had hated them.

 

Rich, snobbish pigs. They spent their days eating and gossiping and making fun of the poor. You had always been so bitter, had always wondered what was outside the cage they called the walls.

 

They thought Titans didn’t even exist. Something to keep the lower class down and afraid. You suppose, to them, they didn’t.

 

Your parents are long dead now, you believe. You’d always known they would have been taken out or knocked off their high perch by some other wealthy family or bitter anarchist. You aren’t bothered in the slightest; you had escaped.

 

Ciel, your younger brother, had taken over the company. You heard this through the late news that filtered out of the grails between the walls. There was a fire but he was fine, presumably.

 

You hope he doesn’t remember you. If he did, you wouldn’t put it past him to hate you.

 

Ciel had been quite young when you left. He was two, you believe. Just a child. A faint memory in a past long since snuffed out.

 

You had given up the Phantomhive name long ago.

 

“Levi,” Erwin had you by the shoulders. You sincerely hope he washed his hands before touching you. You detest uncleanliness. “I don’t think you understand how dire the situation is.”

 

“Hands off,” You say flatly.

 

He does so, but continues to lean over you.

 

“Levi,”

 

“No, Erwin.”

 

“Levi, please.”

 

“No.”

 

“Le-!”

 

“ _I said no_.”

 

You continue on your way to breakfast, morning adequately ruined.

 

He’s following you. He’s not going to give up. You can smell his desperation.

 

“As your Commander-”

 

“No.” You take your usual seat next to Hanji in the mess hall, rapidly losing your appetite. You fold your arms and slouch against your chair, petulant and fuming, trying to shrug off any remains of your past that clung to you like a stain.

 

“God damnit Levi-”

 

“No.”

 

“Would you let me-”

 

“ _No_.”

 

Erwin glares at you, frustrated with your lack of cooperation. He takes a deep breath to calm down and sits across from you, steepling his fingers.

 

Hanji eyes your exchange with a raised brow. “What’s going on with you two now?”

 

You manage to say “None of your business,” the same time Erwin says “Levi isn’t doing his job.” You kick him under the table for it and he manages to glare at you to the best of his ability.

 

She looks unsettled. Erd gives her a rough pat on the back and tells her not to worry about it, it happens all the time, conflict of interests, etc…

 

You spend the rest of your meal time flicking dirk specs on your Commander’s food and glaring at him for disrupting your usual peace of mind.

 

The soldiers find this unnerving and stays quiet, watching the two of you glare at each other and emanate tension. /out of the corner of your eye you can see Eren watching with a worried expression.

 

When roll call has been made and everyone is dismissed for training you and Erwin remain, arguing heatedly.

 

“Assuming I do actually ask for funding; What would I say? So sorry for leaving all those years ago, do you mind if I bum some couple thousand dollars off of you?”

 

“Obviously not like that, Levi.” His voice is chiding.

 

“Your idiocy astounds me,” You snap at him.

 

“That’s enough; stop acting like a child.”

 

You kick him again, frustrated beyond belief. He knows how touchy you are about your past transgressions. You had made him swear never to speak of it.

 

He doesn’t bat an eye when your heel collides with his foot. You feel betrayed.

 

“Levi,” He says gently.

 

You hate him. _You hate him_.

 

“ _Never_.” You hiss, eyes slit.

 

“...Then  you leave me no choice.”

 

Baffled, you watch as he stands and excuses himself from the table, exiting without further explanation of his abrupt decision.

 

You spend the rest of that day training. Your anger gets the better of you several times, causing broken swords and gear. Eventually you have to force yourself to quit before you severely hurt yourself.

 

You sit on the fence and watch over the trainees, trying to figure out what Erwin had meant.

 

Your subordinates are concerned; Petra swings by on her break period to give you tea and some peaceful company, which you appreciate. You shoo her off before your capricious mood can get to her, and decide to go back to your quarters to do some paperwork or maybe just read a while.

 

You fall asleep at your desk, waking up to Hanji’s laughter and the feeling on  dried ink on your face.

 

She explains to you over the rush of water as you wash your face that Erwin had sent her to tell you that you were going into town tomorrow to get supplies with her.

 

“He was pretty grumpy,” Hanji had laughed, depositing the list on your desk and admiring your looping scrawl that lead off the paper and onto the desk. “He said we didn’t have the money for it, but hey, here we are!”

 

“Tell him to just take it out of my paycheck.” You growl, rubbing your face clean with a spare towel.

 

She laughs. “At this rate you won’t even _have_ a paycheck!”

 

You don’t want to admit it but she was right. You frequently offered to take the fall when pay cuts and money was concerned. You were currently paid less than the average foot soldier, due to this. You didn’t mind; you weren’t a greedy man.

 

Hanji cheerfully observes that you are out of tea. You tell yourself you don’t mind it. Not at all.

 

“The prices of tea have gone up as of late! It’s actually double what it usually is. Buy any more and you’ll be flat broke!”

 

You mind a lot, actually.

  
You kick her out of your office with a vengeance and take a long, miserable nap.


	2. Chapter 2

Things were quiet in the Phantomhive household as of late.

 

You had your typical routine to follow; Meals, lessons, _work_.

 

You weren’t making much progress in your personal goals, though. The Queen hasn’t had anything for you to do for about two weeks now. Already you are restless for something, _anything_ to happen.

 

You ponder this, eating the raspberries on top of your cheesecake sourly.

 

Sebastian is there, cleaning and organizing your carelessly tosses files. You had thrown them in a fit of pique not too long ago, unhappy at not finding any connections of current and past criminal organizations.

 

He tuts at you every so often, but you ignore it in favour of your treat.

 

There were loud footsteps approaching. You look up in surprise when the door to your office flies open, slamming into the wall and making a dent of remarkable size. Tanaka rushes in, wheezing horridly and looking pallid.

 

“There is news,” He gasps, “Of your _brother_.”

 

You drop your fork in shock. It clatters to the floor, unnoticed.

 

Sebastian looks interested.

 

“ _Rivaille_?” A choked gasp. It takes you a moment to realize its from yourself.

 

It doesn’t take long for you to be in action, ordering for all your weekly plans to grind to a halt. Tanaka is explaining to you the circumstance but you can barely hear him over your excitement. You leave the mansion to your servants and have a carriage called for immediately.

 

“A brother, hm?” Sebastian’s curiosity is causing you irritation. Having no idea the magnitude of the situation, he is being slow to spite you.

 

Tanaka nods at him gravely. “Yes. A long time ago the Phantomhive household had twosons. Rivaille and Ciel. Rivaille, the older, vanished one night. There were signs of a struggle, and blood on the floor. We thought him kidnapped, or worse.”

 

“How do you know it’s him, then?”  

 

You grind your teeth irritably. Stupid questions! Tanaka knows. He would not fail you.

 

Sebastian, at last, loads the final suitcase and gets in the driver’s seat.

 

You’re in the carriage before Tanaka can get the door fully open. He joins you as quickly as he can and gives Sebastian directions to where you were going before shutting the door with a final click.

 

You remember Rivaille. Just barely, but it’s there. You remember warmth, Rivaille saying something about birds and walls. Sweet, dearest brother. You hadn’t been able to understand him but you knew you had loved him so.

 

“Tell me about him, Tanaka.”

 

Said man scratches his cheek in thought before settling down to speak.

 

“Young master Rivaille was a very kind child. He did what he thought was right and defended many. He was also very rebellious.” He adjusts his glasses and continues. “He frequently ran out of the mansion and out of the grounds into the town nearby. He was always climbing trees or statues. There really was no containing him!”

 

Tanaka sighs deeply. “He wasn’t very happy often. He was as neat as a pin and was incredibly intelligent. Your father wanted him to run the business when he passed away, but he wasn’t sure Rivaille could handle the responsibility. “

 

You mull this over. You want to make sure you can recognize him but you hardly remember what he looks like.

 

“You will know when you see him, master Ciel.” Tanaka assures you when you ask. “He was always so fond of you, you know. He would always skip lessons if you felt like playing instead.”

 

You say nothing, glancing out of the window anxiously. You wished Sebastian would drive faster.

 

“Be warned, though. He may not be the same as he was.”

 

It takes several days to get there. You pass through the gateways of Shina with no problem, the carriage rumbling along without a hitch. The further from Shina you go, the more dilapidated the buildings appear. In wall Rose you approach the outskirts, the very edge of the fifty meter walls.

 

There’s a castle here; the headquarters of the Survey Corps.

 

You’re thrumming with excitement.

 

People--soldiers, you realize, are swinging from tower to tower. They point where they’re going and there’s a loud bang before they’re sent flying in that direction, ludicrous and elegant all at once. In the changing light you can see chords and grappling hooks. They whizz by quickly and efficiently, ejecting a bright smoke from behind. Swinging past windows, you realize their orderly manner was them cleaning.

 

The entire castle.

 

 _Top to bottom_.

 

As effective as it was you just had to wonder why. As a military outpost, it wasn’t expected to be clean.

 

Regardless it was spotless; you felt like you were entering a fellow noble’s home.

 

Sebastian pulls the carriage to a stop and you can’t get out fast enough, legs cramped and eager.

 

A man is there waiting for you. Tall and blonde he introduces himself as Commander Erwin, the one who had alerted Tanaka to the presence of your elusive brother.

 

You have to crane your head to look up at him.

 

“A pleasure to meet you, Earl Phantomhive.” He says pleasantly. His hand is rough and calloused from his work, dwarfing yours. You try not to marvel at it too much.

 

“The pleasure is mine,” you say politely in return. Though the formalities aren’t completely out of the way you are already asking for the reason you came.

 

“He is training the new recruits today,” Erwin smiles. “He is a very busy man, as Captain of the special unit squadron. He doesn’t know you’re coming!” He laughs, leading you into the complex.

 

You follow him, watching the soldiers above in awe. They all had their own style; some bounced, some swung, some danced, some flew.

 

Behind the towering castle there are more grounded soldiers. Stable hands lead horses back to the castle, trainees fought, helping hands moved equipment and strange machinery. They watch you go by in shock and hope. You wonder vaguely why.

 

You’re not paying too much attention to the Commander. He’s saying something about troops and supplies, something rather dull and uninteresting. When he says your brother’s name you have to pause to digest it. Levi sounds strange in his voice, an odd sort of accent you hadn’t encountered before.

 

“He prefers the place to be very clean,” Erwin is saying as he leads you past fences and soldiers, gesturing about. “If he even finds a speck of dust anywhere the whole complex has to be cleaned twice over!”

 

You furrow your brow. Tanaka had said he was a very clean sort of fellow, but you didn’t think it would be so extreme.

 

“Is he under some sort of stress?” Sebastian asks suddenly, sounding interested.

 

You jump a little, quickly becoming irritable. “Sebastian, quiet!”

 

Erwin is quiet for a moment. “Yes, he is under quite a bit of stress. He is, after all, humanities _strongest_ soldier.”

 

Your jaw drops. That is what your brother had become? 

 

"To be the strongest person alive...it must be due to a harrowing ordeal.”

 

“That is...more of an _understatement_ than anything else.” Erwin watches a group of soldiers pass by carrying stretchers. As several more pass by you can see his expression move from bemused to stern.

 

“Jean. Marco.” He calls out to the latest group.

 

The two soldiers called quickly move out of the group, saluting with loud, “Yes, sir!”’s.

 

You wonder despairingly in the back of your mind why everyone had to be so tall.

 

Erwin inquires as to what is going on ahead. The freckled one nervously answers.

 

“Several troops from the Garrison have arrived earlier, sir. Their Commander challenged Captain Levi to a duel!”

 

Erwin’s eyebrows furrow as you freeze, heart stopping.

 

“Interesting, considering the Garrison doesn’t actually do much.”

 

Sebastian gives a brief snort.

 

“They’re lazy, that’s for sure,” the other--Jean, you guess, says under his breath. Erwin eyes him in amusement before sending them on their way and following them.

 

You approach a ring at the very end of the property. Soldiers who notice you back out of the way quickly, nudging each other.

 

In the corner of your eye you can see the groups from earlier gathering badly wounded members of the Garrison and taking them back the way you came. The final soldiers part and you see the Commander of said legion, bloody and mangled, angry beyond belief. And…

 

Rivaille.

 

He looks tired and irritated, but completely unharmed. His weight is shifted oddly, so that he’s not sinking into the mud below. Radiating distaste, he holds his swords elegantly, poised perfectly.

 

The commander lunges, last sword at the ready. It’s broken, you notice.

 

Rivaille leaps, the shards of the blade missing him by inches. Airborne, he spins, blades flashing in the sun, and lands easily on the other side of the ring.

 

It takes you a minute of watching to realize he isn’t taking the fight seriously; he leaps and twirls out of the way of each fist and lunge, watching the commander grow weary with a childlike curiosity in his eyes.

 

“Alright, that’s enough,” Erwin says over the din, voice raised. The other Commander freezes, but Rivaille lets out a huff and lands on the man’s face, sneering at Erwin before leaping to less muddied ground.

 

Rivaille straightens, looking moderately unbothered at Erwins gruff and scolding “ _Levi_.”

 

“Commander of the Garrison, what is the meaning of this?” He directs to the figure splayed out in the mud. Only a muffled reply comes, so he orders for several of the bystanders to take him to the castle for questioning.

 

You’re struggling to get yourself to speak. Your brother hasn’t noticed you yet, too busy cleaning blood and mud off of his blades with easy and practiced movements. Sebastian’s presence behind you isn’t of much help, either. He was much too interested, in your opinion.

 

Jean glances at you before trotting to someone in the crowd and giving them a harsh nudge, telling them in a hushed voice to get Rivaille’s attention, get him to turn around his brother is here.

 

Startled green eyes snap back to look at you, then to your elder brother. He nods once before leaping over the fence, trotting to the lone figure.

 

He says something too quiet for you to hear. Rivaille drops his weapons.

 

When they clatter to the ground everyone falls silent, watching.

 

“...Don’t you all have training to be doing?” Erwin asks loudly, cutting through the silence with his irate voice.

 

The crowd dissipates reluctantly, looking over their shoulders at you in interest.

 

With a final nod at you Erwin leads the stragglers elsewhere. The messenger of your arrival remains by Rivaille’s side, the growing concern on his face making you nervous.

 

Rivaille turns, finally, to you.

 

“Why are you here?” He sounds stern, as if you shouldn’t have come. You can see the agony and exhaustion in his eyes, ringed heavily from lack of sleep. Your heart quakes in your chest; his presence is almost overwhelming.

 

You clear your throat and say, voice wavering, “You’re my family--I had to.”

 

He looks, for a split second, incredulous.  Quietly, his voice carrying on the wind, he says “I am no longer a Phantomhive.”

 

Now it was your turn to be incredulous. “What? Of course you are. You are my brother Rivaille.”

 

He is silent, eyeing you. Confused, you realized. He doesn’t understand.

  
You gather the shreds of your courage and say, just as stern as he was before, “Just because you have been gone so long, doesn't mean you are a stranger to our household.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sebastian's point of view is in the next chapter, not to worry.


End file.
